Adolph schwarz



A SGHWARZ CIGAR BRANDING AND CUTTING MACHINE.

(No Model.)

Patented July 7, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT macs.

ADOLPH SOHWVARZ, NEW YORK, N. -Y.

CIGAR BRANDING AND CUTTING MACHiNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,622, dated July 7, 1896.

Application filed October 5, 1895.

To all 1072 0121 it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLPH SOHVV'ARZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cigar Branding and Outting Machines, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

It has for some time been customary to brand cigars by means of a heated plate having in relief the name or other symbol or design which is to be impressed on the Wrapper of the cigar. Heretofore this branding has been accomplished by means of brandingmachines, in the use of which various and important difficulties have been met with.

In order to avoid injuring the Wrapper of the cigar by the pressure of the brandingplate, it is necessary that the cigar be branded While the wrapper is moist, as, if the Wrapper be allowed to become too dry, the letters of the branding-plate Will pierce the Wrapper or the wrapper will otherwise be cracked or broken by the pressure of the plate. The machines of one of the classes heretofore in use are designed to brand a large number of cigars at once or in rapid succession, and it is impracticable with these machines to brand each cigar immediately on its being finished and while the Wrapper is still moist, there being necessarily, on the contrary, a considerable average interval from the time a cigar is finished until it is branded, so that, as the Wrappers dry very quickly, many of them become so dry by the time the cigars reach the branding-machine as to be injured in the operation of branding; As a matter of fact, a very considerable percentage of cigars are spoiled in this operation of branding as heretofore carried on, as, if the Wrapper of the cigar is broken, the cigar must be re-covered and the wrapper lost. When it is considered that the Wrapper is generally the most ex pensive part of the tobacco entering into a cigar, it will be understood that the loss thus occasioned is very considerable. Further,

the use of these machines introduces an additional step into the manufacture of cigars, involving an additional handling of each cigar and the employment of at least one extra seen No. 564,723. (No man.)

hand, thus further increasing the cost of manufacture. It Will thus be seen that the process of branding with machines of this kind increased the cost of manufacturing cigars by the cost of the additional step introduced into the manufactureand also by the loss due to the great number of cigars which had their Wrappers destroyed in the process. It should also be observed that the injury to the Wrapper may be such as not to be observable and yet be sufficient to destroy the draft of the cigar; and such cigars getting on the market injure the reputation of the maker and the brand.

Attempts have also heretofore been made to brand cigars by providing cigar-cutters with branding-plates in such a manner that the cigars will be branded at the same time that their ends are trimmed or cut off; but the branding-plate has been so arranged that the part of the cigar which it is most necessary shall be kept moist is subjected to the drying action of heat as soon as it is placed in position on the cutter, with the result that when the branding-plate is pressed against the cigar the wrapper will likely have become too dry to be branded Without in j ury.

The object of the present invention is to avoid these difficulties and enable cigars to be branded while the Wrapper is still moist and Without introducing any extra step into the manufacture and Without entailing any extra Work, thus enabling the branding to be done Without adding appreciably to the cost of making the cigar.

To these ends, I combine with the ordinary cigar-cutter for cutting off the ends of cigars as they are made a branding-plate which is pressed against the cigar, preferably, by the same movement by which the cutter-blade is moved to cut off the end of the cigar, and which is so arranged that it may be heated Without heating the support for the cigar, or the cigar as it lies on the support, all as will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, a detailed description will now be given of a construction embodying the same in a preferred form, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a front elevation of a cigar-cutter embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3 of Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 4 is a similar sectional view showing the invention as 'app'liedto an-' other form 'of cutter and, showing a gasburner for heating the branding-plate, iny stead of a lamp, as shown in the other views.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and3 of the drawings, is a cutting-blade carried by anaxle or shaft 11, mounted in suitable bearings on a block 12, and which'blade is operated by means of a handle 13 and is held in its'nor+ mal elevated position by means of a spring 1%. I The blade when depressed acts incon: junction with a stationary blade 15 to cutoff the end of a cigar which has been placed on the support formed by theupper face of the block 12, which is formed with a groove or I ,channel'16,'a movable stop 17 being provided cumferentially of the shaft to provide for addifferent thicknesses. The branding-plate Will thus be carried down against the cigar which has been placed in the groove 16'when' the cutting-blade 10 is depressed for the purpose of cutting off the end of the cigar, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and when the blade and connecting parts are returned to theirnormal position the branding-plate will be carried up to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, where it may be heated without heating the block 12 or the cigar as it lies in the groove 16. lVhen it is desired merely to out the ends of cigars without branding them, the bracket 2]. may be moved on shaft 11, so as to carry the branding-plate out of operative position, as will be readily understood.

Any suitable means may be provided for heating the plate 20. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, there is provided a lamp 25, resting on a bracket 26, and having a broad wick-tube 27, which extends forward toward the brandingplate, so that the flame will heat the plate when said plate is in its normal position.

In the construction shown in Fig. 4 the movable cutting-blade 30 is pivoted to a stationary cutting-blade 31, which issecured to the end of the block 12, a spring 32 serving to hold the movable blade in its normal position, as shown in said figure, and the branding-plate 20 is carried by a bracket 21, adjustably secured on a rod 35, carried by and projecting inwardly from the movable blade 30, so that, as the blade 30 is depressed, the

branding-plate will be carried down with it:

to engage and press the cigar in the groove 16.: In this figure'an arrangement for heating the branding-plate by means of gas is shown, a pipe 36being supportedparallel with the branding-plate andhavingperforations 37 on the side toward the brandingplate, so that the gasjets will be projected toward the branding-platewhen it is in its elevated position.

3 It is desirable, that thebranding-plate may be removed and others substituted, so that the same machine may serve for cigars of different brands, and for thispurpose, in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the supporting-bracket is provided with a supporting-plate 40, having turned edges ll, be-

tween which the branding-plate may be slid, into position and by which it is held,-or, as

shown in. Fig.4, the edges of the brandingplate may be turned to embrace the edges of a flat supporting-plate, or the branding-plate may be otherwise removably supported.

It will be seen that by my invention a cigar may be branded at the same time and by the same operation by which the end of the cigar I tion is, furthermore, not attended with any increase in the cost of manufacture. I

It will be understood that the invention may be employed for branding cigars of all sizes and kinds,:including the sc-called all-to bacco cigarettes, and with cutters of any suitable form, whether designed tocut one or both ends of the cigar. It will also be understood that other forms of cutters maybe provided with branding-plates in accordance with the present invention, and that the details of mounting and securing the plates may be varied, as may be found necessary or desirable.

What is claimed is- 1. The combination with a cutting-blade and a support for the cigar, of a brandingplate, and means for moving the branding plate into contact with and pressing it against the side of the cigar away from the support as the cutting-blade is depressed, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a cigar-cutter, of a branding-plate arranged to be moved into contact with and pressed against the unsupported side of the cigar, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a cutting-blade and a shaft by which the cutting-blade is carried, of abranding-plate carried by said shaft, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination with a cutting-blade and a shaft by which the cutting-blade is carried, of a branding-plate, and a support for the branding-plate carried by said shaft and adjustable circumferentially thereof, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a cutting-blade ICC 1 o justable oireumferentiall y thereof, an d means for heating the branding-plate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ADOLPH SCHW'ARZ.

Vitnesses A. L. KENT, A. V. BOURKE. 

